What is this course about?

This is a Janus-faced course: this is at the same time a traditional criminal law course and it is not. Its aim is to explore a few (but not all!) fundamental issues in criminal law, in a decidedly social context. It also aims to look at these fundamentals comparatively. The basic idea of the course is that institutions of criminal law are social and cultural constructs, and so are the cognitive schemes we lawyers use when making sense of them and applying them in our daily lives.

The purpose of the course is thus to move both the lecturers and student beyond the comfort zone of “this is the law in this country” discussion on black letter criminal law, and provide a second-order discourse the social, cultural and cognitive embeddedness of core concepts of criminal law.

 

Who should take this course?

This is a relatively advanced course for students with keen interest in criminal law. Familiarity with basic theoretical concepts of criminal law (in the student’s own jurisdiction) as well as a good command of English is necessary.

Course design

Each class is centred around a single topic. Each topic is introduced by the careful analysis of a case study. The case studies will be prepared as student presentations (maximum two students per presentation).

Materials

All relevant literature (required and recommended) is available in the reader, which is accessible on the moodle page of the course. As the course progresses, we will make the ppt presentations and/or outlines also available there.

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance is required. Attendance will be recorded.

Assignments

Students will be required to read the compulsory reading material. The recommended readings are aimed at students with particular interest in the topic. The reading of this is voluntary. Students will also be required to select a case study and prepare a student presentation as well as a written outline about the case.

A completed presentation and outline relieve the student from the requirement to submit an essay at the end of the term.

Exam, Evaluation and Grading

To complete the course, students will be required to submit an essay. Submission deadline is the end of the term. Topics and further details, including a detailed grading policy will be made available on the moodle page of the course at the beginning of the term. The grade received for the essay will constitute the final grade, except for those who have completed an assignment during the course. The latter will be graded based on the quality of the presentation and the outline.